Security setting for Dad's PC

I am up using Dad's PC on dial up. I previously had installed Norton Internet Security but now a year has gone by and they want $40 for subscription renewal. Although Dad can be online for quite a bit, he just surfs the web and to my knowledge really doesn't go to hacker sites and such that might be more conducive to viruses and trojan horses. I am wondering if the windows SP2 firewall along with a free anti-virus such as AVG might be sufficient. But just a few minutes ago, I got a pop up notice from NIS that said a "port scan" attempt had been blocked. If windows SP2 firewall had been enabled (it's not at the moment due to already having NIS), would that have also blocked the port scan attempt?

Normally, I would get Norton and run it for one year, let it expire, and just run it for about another year (without updates)... Then look for a good sale.

I get very few (i.e., none in the last 3-4 years) virus email notifications from Norton (I tested with a test virus and it does work--I guess I am not getting any viruses). I know that Earthlink was filtering viruses for awhile (used to get notification--check your IP and see if they do... Also, some IP offer free anti-virus downloads).

The port scan warning is just a "sales tactic" to scare you into purchasing their product. Yes, there is a lot of port scanning going on and you need a firewall to help keep you safe (if you are running windows). Norton's firewall keeps running even if updates expire (I believe).

Look at www.grc.com and try "Shields up"--he has a nice firewall test and talks about the various options.

Windows firewall will work to protect against inbound problems. ZoneAlarm and NIS also protect against outbound problems too (such as you get a virus or other problem and it tries to access the Internet--ZA and NIS will ask you if you want to give the program access--AFAIK Windows Firewall does not support this feature).

I am also using Firefox (browser), Thunderbird (email), Spybot Search and Destroy (anti-spam for IE), and Spyware Blaster (anti-spam for IE).

I am also running a few FireFox anti-spam extension too; Adblock Plus (ad sites frequently have spam scripts), Adblock Filterset.G Updater (works with Adblock Plus), NoScript (blocks all java/flash/plugin scripts unless you allow a site), and lastly SiteAdvisor (new beta software than works with Google/Yahoo to warn you if your search results point to websites that spam and/or run scripts/downloads--you may have issue that it reports search results back to server).

Running IE and Outlook are just invitations for disaster.

-Bill

You are going to get port scans. Script kiddiez are just a fact of life on the net. A good firewall is a must. Yes, MS' firewall probably would have intercepted that port scan, but there are much better options out there.

Zone Alarm (free) AntiVIR (free) and Firefox (free)will pretty much take care of him. All are easy to install and run. You'll find Zone Alarm better than MS' firewall (outbound protection) and free'er and less resource intensive (big time) than Norton or McAfee's. I secured my system this way (along with AVG before AntiVIR) for a couple years without incident. I've moved to Linux, but I still secure my mother's system with it. She's trained herself to also run Windows Update, Spybot and Adaware every Saturday and has not had a single problem. If she can do it I imagine this would serve your father equally well. If he's mildly adventurous, the extensions in Firefox, ie Adblock, will greatly enhance his browsing enjoyment.

Hardest part for you will be shutting down and successfuly uninstalling Norton.

XP's firewall will block it. It's all I use.

XP's firewall isn't bad, but it's even better to be behind a NAT router, if at all possible. A NAT router only allows solicited data to get to your computer.

A good anti-virus program is a must, but it doesn't have to cost. I use AVG's free edition, which works just fine for me.

I'd also recommend some anti-spyware programs, such as Ad-aware, Spybot Search & Destroy, and Spyware Blaster. Regular updates and scans are necessary.